Cosmos' Doggie Blog

She pupped you, nursed you, cleaned you, and reared you for years before you knew how to yap “Thank you.” Now that you’re fully weaned (one would hope), it’s time to show her just how grateful you are by giving her a fabulous Mother’s Day in Balboa Park.

One Mother’s Day treat she’ll never forget is the annual Champagne Brunch at the Prado Restaurant. Eggs Benedict with crab, prime rib, chilled seafood and dim sum stations, and a chocolate fountain are just a few of the tasty highlights she (and I) will bark about for years to come. But you’d better make your reservations soon for this doggie dish-busting smorgasbord!

For the entertainment portion of the day, you have a few options:

The breathtaking IMAX film To the Arctic at the Reuben H. Fleet tracks the emotional journey of a mama polar bear and her two precocious pups as they hunt, nuzzle, and play their way across a changing and scenic Arctic wilderness.

If reality TV meets first-rate theater production is more her style, than she’ll likely enjoy a matinee performance of the new musical comedy at the Old Globe Theatre, Nobody Loves You.

On the other hand, if being in the Park is more about sniffing around outdoors for her, then a leisurely stroll through a Rose Garden in full bloom followed by a free Mother’s Day concert in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion might just be the ticket.

With so many different things to do in Balboa Park, you shouldn’t have any problem making it about her and what she wants to do — on any pup’s budget.

Long before I began my career as the Park’s resident canine blogger, I enjoyed many an idyllic summer as a young pup frolicking through Balboa Park’s gardens and sniffing every corner of its historic architecture. It is those experiences that made me the alpha dog I am today—at least in my own little pack. If I had the benefit of the kinds of organized summer camp experiences currently offered by the Park’s first-class cultural organizations, who knows where I would be today!

Fortunately, it’s not too late for your own pups, and there’s never been a better time to introduce them to the many facets of Balboa Park’s cultural kaleidoscope. Whether your younglings prefer ballet, photography, airplanes, arts and crafts, astronomy, trains, dinosaurs, archeology, nature, and everything in between, you’ll find something in the many half-day Balboa Park summer camps that they won’t mind putting down the Nintendo for.

And if your pups are more like fickle felines, no problem! A special collaborative program allows each kid to spend the morning in one camp and the afternoon in a completely different one, with camp staff providing lunchtime supervision and an escort to the second venue. The only catch is you’ll need to register at each institution separately, as there is no centralized registration process.

And if you’re the type of workaholic or commuter that can’t fetch your child by 4:00pm each day, the Old Globe Theatre is now offering an aftercare program from 4:00 to 6:00pm. Full-day camps are also offered by the San Diego Junior Theatre, San Diego Zoo, and San Diego Art Institute.

But you’d better hurry, as the most popular camps fill up quickly! To start your planning, be sure to paw over this handy brochure.